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Review

There's more to worry about than campaign finances in President Alan Richmond's White House; the Secret Service has just murdered his girlfriend, and hampering a cover-up is the witness who was hiding in the next room. In this sleek, competent thriller, efficiently adapted by William Goldman (based on David Baldacci's novel), Eastwood plays Luther Whitney, a thief who is now on the run after witnessing the handiwork of President Richmond (played with great vigor and venom by Hackman) and his staff. All of Washington, D.C., becomes a board game of cat and mouse as Whitney tries to elude government agents and the police. That this works at all is testament to director Eastwood -- the story isn't always plausible, but it's always in focus. Absolute Power is a wild ride up and down the Beltway all the same.